NYRA has wish list for panel

Request follows study showing horse industry's $4.2B impact on N.Y.

Updated 8:09 am, Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New York Senator John Bonacic speaks during a press conference at the Capitol Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The leaders released a report commissioned by the New York Horse Racing and Agriculture Industry Alliance on the economic impact of the Equine industry in NYS. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

New York Senator John Bonacic speaks during a press conference at...

Jeffrey Cannizzo of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders speaks during a press conference at the Capitol Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The leaders released a report commissioned by the New York Horse Racing and Agriculture Industry Alliance on the economic impact of the Equine industry in NYS. New York Senator John Bonacic stands behind him. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Jeffrey Cannizzo of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders speaks...

New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow speaks during a press conference at the Capitol Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The leaders released a report commissioned by the New York Horse Racing and Agriculture Industry Alliance on the economic impact of the Equine industry in NYS. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow speaks during a press conference...

Rick Violette of New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association speaks during a press conference at the Capitol Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The leaders released a report commissioned by the New York Horse Racing and Agriculture Industry Alliance on the economic impact of the Equine industry in NYS. Standing behind him, from left, are Mike Kimelman of the Standardbred Owners Association of New York, Jeff Williams of the NYS Farm Bureau, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, Senator John Bonacic and Jeffrey Cannizzo of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Rick Violette of New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association...

Jeff Williams of the NYS Farm Bureau speaks during a press conference at the Capitol Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The leaders released a report commissioned by the New York Horse Racing and Agriculture Industry Alliance on the economic impact of the Equine industry in NYS. Standing behind him are Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, left, and Senator John Bonacic. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

ALBANY — The New York Racing Association wants five of its current board to continue as trustees in a new publicly controlled group of directors to oversee the state's three tracks for the next three years.

Cuomo's appointees, which will dominate the new 17-member board, and those of the Senate and Assembly have not been identified yet.

Violette, president of the state Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said the new NYRA board will arrive just as the horse business is booming in New York.

A new study commissioned by the New York Horse Racing and Agriculture Industry Alliance, a group that includes Violette's organization, released a report on Tuesday that says there are 23,100 standardbred and thoroughbred horses in New York directly linked to the racing industry out of more than 150,000 recreation and competition horses in the state.

Each racing-caliber horse yields $92,100 of economic impact, according to the study authored by the Innovation Group, a private consulting firm. That's good for 80 jobs per 100 horses.

The equine industry has a $4.2 billion effect on the state's economy and generates 33,000 full-time jobs, the study said.

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow and Sen. John Bonacic, chairs of the two legislative racing committees, attended a news conference with Violette and the alliance at the Capitol. The lawmakers said they hope to do more to pump up the industry, and said they will work to achieve second passage of a constitutional amendment to allow for full-scale casinos in New York that many believe would benefit horse racing.

Most of the growth has been among the farms focused on trotters, alliance members said. But with video gaming now available at Aqueduct, thoroughbred growth is expected to rise sharply in the next five years.